- BMW is recalling more than 70,000 electric vehicles that can lose drive power.
- A number of models are impacted including the i4, i5, i7, and iX from 2022 to 2024.
- The recall is being blamed on a software issue that can trigger a fail-safe shutdown.
BMW is recalling 70,852 EVs because their electric drive motor software may shut down the high-voltage system. This can result in a loss of drive power, which increases the risk of a crash.
An assortment of models are impacted including the 2022-2025 i4, 2022-2024 iX, and 2023-2024 i7. BMW is also recalling 4,674 i5s from the 2024 model year.
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According to the safety recall report, the electric drive motor software may “erroneously detect a double-isolation condition.” If this occurs, the high-voltage system will shut down for approximately 15-20 seconds following a warning message. This will effectively leave drivers coasting, but the government noted the steering and braking system will continue to operate.
BMW began investigating the issue in 2021 and initially believed debris could have gotten into electric motors and affected their performance. However, there was a “very low number of claims” at the time and this made it hard to pinpoint the problem.
Despite the difficulties, the automaker spent years looking into the issue and eventually focused on the possibility of a loss of propulsion due to detection of a double-isolation condition. This analysis suggested the “vehicle software could not determine, whether a detected double-isolation condition was, in fact, a true double-isolation condition, which warranted a high-voltage system shutdown or, was, in fact, only a single-isolation condition.” This is important as a double-isolation condition triggers a shutdown of the high-voltage system as part of a fail-safe measure to prevent an electric shock or a “thermal risk.”
BMW believes they have received approximately 43 warranty claims related to the issue, which resulted in loss of propulsion at speeds greater than 20 mph (32 km/h). Thankfully, the company isn’t aware of any accidents or injuries related to the problem.
To address the issue, BMW will install new electric drive motor software as part of an over-the-air update. Customers can also have this installed at dealerships and owner notifications are slated to go out on August 5.
